The Rose that Blooms in Blood
by Tigress of the Stars
Summary: The Naruto group goes to the beach for training, and Kakashi meets up with an old friend, only something isn't right. Not only that, but someone's after their blood. KakashiXOC
1. Chapter 1

I apologize in advance for any OOC-ness, and if I mess with Kakashi's back round, but I never got that far in the manga so don't chew me out. And don't harp on any of my little mistakes plz.

Disclaimer: I dun own Naruto, but I do own Aiko and the yet un-named evil ninja dude person and the other seven ppl in the newspaper and that's that.

"Are you sure she's even here?" Naruto asked loudly.

"Aiko said she had no desire to leave her home," Kakashi answered, staring at the front door of his old friend's house. Beside him Sakura shifted her weight from one foot to the other. She looked around again for lack of anything better to do. Aiko lived in a second story apartment by the sea shore. The deck they were standing on ran in front of Aiko's apartment and the one next to it and wrapped a little around the left side of Aiko's apartment. In the corner was a small round table and a few red-painted benches. Naruto was growing impatient. How long did it take to answer the door?

"Open the damn door!" he shouted as he pounded his fist on the door.

Sasuke glared at Naruto. Trust him to act like an idiot. Whoever this Aiko person was, she probably wasn't going to be too happy about someone shouting and hammering on her front door.

"Don't get your boxers in a knot! I'm coming!" shouted a person who must be Aiko, from inside.

Suddenly the door slid open and there stood Aiko. Naruto stared open mouthed; he could feel the beginning of a nose bleed coming on. Sasuke looked away, his face a vivid shade of pink, but some how his eyes kept wandering back to the woman at the door. Kakashi could feel his face grow hot as well, this was a side of his friend he had never seen before, and Sakura was horrified. Aiko stood there, leaning against the door post, eyes still closed; wearing what looked like a pair of underwear and a spaghetti strap shirt that showed almost two inches of her stomach.

"Who the hell are you and do you have any damn idea what time it is?" she asked in the voice of someone who had just been woken-up.

"What the…" Naruto said. Aiko just pointed to the benches without opening her eyes.

"Sit! –until I have my cup of coffee," she said and slammed the door shut, leaving the four of them standing there.

"What do we do now?" Sakura asked, still stunned that a woman would answer the door dressed like that.

"Sit down and wait for her to finish her coffee," Kakashi said, and he walked over to the nearest bench and sat down. He leaned against the railing and took out his book and began to read. "Aiko was never much of a morning person," he added. Sasuke and Sakura sat down on benches as well.

"It doesn't matter what Kakashi says," Naruto fairly shouted, "there's no way you can be a jounin! I bet I could beat you without breaking a sweat!" Before Naruto could say anything else, something came flying out of the window to the right of the door and hit Naruto in the head.

"Shut up and let a person drink her coffee in peace!" Aiko shouted and slammed the window shut. Kakashi looked at what she had thrown. It was a small grey stone dish with the characters of her name painted on it in black ink. Judging by what she had thrown and how hard she had thrown it, he was surprised Aiko hadn't brained Naruto; but then again, Naruto's skull was so thick he could probably run head long into a brick wall and not be phased.

"Why did we come here just to get stuff thrown at us?" Naruto huffed as he dropped onto one of the benches, apparently thinking better of yelling at Aiko again, at least for now.

"If you hadn't shouted at her she wouldn't have thrown something at you, you idiot," Sasuke said, leaning against the wood railing and looking into the next houses' yard.

"Yeah? Well we wouldn't even be here is sensei hadn't forgotten to put on stupid sun block," Naruto said, which was true. Kakashi had taken them out on the beach to train in the soft sand and he had forgotten sun block. It was then that he had remembered Aiko lived near by and she had something that worked wonders on sun burn, given the fact that when she was younger she had been burned many a time because she had always been too impatient to waste time putting on sun block.

"You can some in now," Aiko called from inside. Kakashi stood up, putting his book away, and walked to the door. He stooped and picked up the dish Aiko had thrown at Naruto before opening the door and entering Aiko's house; Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke following. The apartment was comfortable furnished and looked like it could more people could have lived there than just Aiko. On the left was the living room with a couch up against the back wall, a coffee table in the middle, an end table that doubled as a lamp and a wicker chair. To the right was a kitchen with a long counter to divide the two rooms and ran around to the back wall and held the sink and the stove. Right next to this counter in the kitchen was a refrigerator. Three stools stood at the counter and the kitchen held a bench against the right wall with a table in front of it.

"Have a seat," Aiko said, sitting on the bench, leaning against the back wall, eyes still closed, with a cup of coffee in her hands on the table. The only difference was this time she had the decency to wear a bathrobe, though the top was left open…

Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura sat on the stools at the counter but Kakashi remained standing, placing the dish on a hutch by the door. Aiko finally opened her eyes and burst out laughing.

"Kakashi, what happened to your face?" she said between great gasps of laughter, "You look like a lobster!"

"Told you," Naruto said obnoxiously. Kakashi stood there and waited for her laughter to subside, knowing he wouldn't get a strait answer out of her until she stopped. Finally Aiko stopped laughing and sat there panting for breath.

"So what brings you out here?" Aiko asked. Then she looked at the three young genin before her.

"Taken up babysitting I see?" she said raising an eye brow at the kids. All at once they began shouting at her, well, maybe not shouting in Sasuke's case, but he did have something to say.

"Chillax," Aiko said, "I was just joking!"

"So you guys thirsty or something, I think I have some orange juice," Aiko said, getting up and opening the fridge door, looking for the orange juice.

'Kakashi-sensei sure has some weird friends' Sakura thought.

'Stupid woman, I'll show her…' Sasuke thought, agitated.

"What do you mean baby-sit? I don't need anyone to take care of me! I bet I could beat you anytime any where!" Naruto said. Kakashi sighed; Naruto was going to get his butt kicked if he kept this up.

Aiko stood up, the orange juice carton in one hand, and said, "Keep talking and you'll be wearing this orange juice in a minute."

"Uh, Aiko?" Kakashi said as Aiko poured three glasses of orange juice, "Sun burn?"

"Oh, yes, right," Aiko said. She left the orange juice on the counter for the kids and pulled Kakashi out of sight into one of the back bedrooms.

"Sit down," Aiko said as she rummaged on a shelf that contained various remedies. Kakashi sat down on one of the futons that were on the floor; it looked as though she was expecting company. He took off his head band (keeping his left eye shut) and pulled down his mask. Aiko had already seen his face before, so it didn't matter now. When he was younger, Kakashi had occasionally gone to Haven Beach where Aiko and her friends had lived. He was a stranger, but they had welcomed him into their group as if he had lived there all his life. He became close friends and they treated Kakashi just like one of their own, even when he returned after he had been away for a long time, they acted like he had never been gone. Eventually Kakashi had lost touch with them after he became a genin, all except Aiko.

By now Aiko had found what she had been looking for, a clay jar filled with aloe vera. She knelt in front of Kakashi and gently began rubbing the aloe vera onto Kakashi's sun burn.

"Gotten any better at wave riding?" she asked with a smile. Wave riding, or surfing, was the sport there, and Kakashi had never been very good at it. Kakashi looked at her face carefully; there was something sad lurking behind her smile. Before he could ask her what it was, the jar had slipped from her hand, the ceramic shattering and splattering aloe vera across the floor. Kakashi was surprised to find Aiko embracing him.

"I'm so glad you came back… I was scared you had died," she whispered, and Kakashi was shocked to see tears flowing from her eyes. The eyes of a girl who would never dare let anyone see her cry.

Somewhere in a forest on the mainland a man was sitting with his back to a tree. He had black hair and looked like a jounin, yet he had no head band to verify which village he came from. He was reading a newspaper that appeared very, very old. At the top there were nine pictures of genin. A caption said that the nine local kids from their home town of Haven Beach had finally become ninjas. And the boasts of them were remembered that they would protect Haven Beach from everything. The first seven pictures had been marked out with big black slashes.

"Hmm, I think my next target shall be this one," the man said, tapping his finger on the last picture, the picture of a boy with white grey hair that stuck out to one side.


	2. Chapter 2

Next Chaper, Wheeeeeeeeee. The reviews made me feel special (even though there were only two!) I may be a little slow in up dating, school and all that... Enjoy! Sorry for any OOC-ness, no one beta read it this time, and I think my grammer is a little messed up.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, I do own Aiko and Kantaro though, so no touche!

* * *

Naruto twisted around on the stool on which he was sitting. This was boring. 

"What do you think about Aiko?" Sakura asked finally.

"She doesn't seem like much of a ninja," said Sasuke. _But then again_, he thought, _neither did Kakashi when we first met him._

"Huh?" said Naruto.

"What is it?" Sakura asked, turning around and looking in the direction that Naruto was looking.

Naruto pointed to the shelf near the ceiling on the other side of the room. It was filled with small keepsake boxes of various designs. And in the center of the shelf, shoved against the back wall, was Aiko's Hitai-ate.

"What do you think it's doing up there?" Naruto asked.

"She probably took it off to sleep, there's nothing odd about it," Sasuke answered. Naruto continued to stare at the headband, feeling that Sasuke was way off in his reckoning.

Aiko let go of Kakashi and sat back on her heels, wiping her eyes.

"Sorry," she said gruffly.

"No problem…" Kakashi answered, a little confused. Aiko had turned away from him and began to pick up the shards of the clay pot.

"Aiko, has something happened?" Kakashi asked, pulling his mask back up and his headband down.

Aiko froze, hand halfway off the ground. She didn't say anything for a while and then began to pick up the pieces again. When she had removed every shard from the floor, she stood up. She turned to Kakashi with a fake smile on her face. In a voice of forced cheerfulness she said: "Lets all go wave riding. Knowing you I bet those kids haven't had a single vacation, and I can thrash you at it again." Then she left the room leaving Kakashi alone.

He stood up and started through the doorway. Something was wrong with Aiko. He then followed her out and found her kneeling in the kitchen, getting a towel out from one of the lower cabinets.

"Great," he could hear her mumbling to herself, "more laundry… I hate laundry!"

"What happened?" Sakura asked, leaning over the counter to see Aiko more clearly.

"Dropped the dang jar," Aiko answered, standing up with a towel in hand.

Naruto looked from Kakashi then to Aiko. Then he said: "I know what happened!"

"Of course you do, she just told us!" Sasuke said.

Naruto continued as if Sasuke hadn't said a thing, "Sensei was putting the moves on you!"

Sakura nearly choked on her orange juice.

"Naruto! What are…" but she didn't get a chance to finish. It happened so fast that even Kakashi had a little trouble following. In one fluid motion, Aiko's hand had shot out, seized Naruto's glass, and up ended the contents on his head.

"Warned you," was all she said as she walked to the back room.

"You really should listen to her when she warns you…" was all Kakashi had to say.

In the back room Aiko wiped up the mess and stood, facing a chest of drawers with a picture on top of it. In the picture there were nine kids, all either twelve or thirteen, wearing leaf headbands. On the right of the group was Aiko, thirteen years younger, with a younger Kakashi on her right and she had the boy on her left in a head lock.

_Kantaro…_

Aiko walked down the hall and tossed the towel in the washing machine, walked back into her bedroom, shut the door, and come out a few minutes later wearing a bathing suit.

"See you at the cove," she said walking to the front door, "trust you remember the way." She opened the door and thumped outside. In a few moments she came back into view. She had a surf board wedged under her left arm, hiding part of her body from view.

"See you there," Aiko said, and was about to leave when Naruto spoke.

"Hey, ain't you gonna take your headband with you?" he asked. Aiko stopped and stared out at the street, avoiding eye contact with anyone, especially Kakashi.

"No," she finally said, "I gave up being a ninja," and then she left.

Kakashi was leading the three to 'the cove', mulling over what Aiko had told them. In fact, all of them had been thinking about it. Though, however puzzling it may have been, it couldn't keep two of them from lapsing back into common place thoughts.

_I hope Sasuke notices my bathing suit, _Sakura thought, blushing slightly.

_Sakura sure looks hot… _was Naruto's thought.

The only one who was combining what had just occurred with common place thoughts was Sasuke.

_Being a ninja is not something you can give up on a whim. Simply stopping shows a weakness of will and determination, _thought Sasuke.

The houses had faded far behind and the land had turned rocky. Kakashi led them along a narrow path that was becoming sandier. Then they took a right turn around a rocky out crop, and there was 'the cove'. 'The cove' was a patch of sand between two high walls of rock. On the beach were five beach towels and two surf boards, noses buried in the sand, but there was no sign of Aiko. Then Kakashi looked up, and there she was, on the top of the rock wall to the left. They watched as she jumped off the cliff, turned a graceful circle in the air, and dove into the ocean. After a few moments they could see Aiko's head bobbing among the rolling waves of the ocean. With powerful strokes she began to swim towards shore. She pulled herself out of the surf and walked up the beach.

"Ready to get your butt kicked?" she asked him, apparently back to normal.

"You're gonna drag me into it anyway?" said Kakashi, and the look on Aiko's face clearly said 'yes'.

"Besides," Aiko said, "I wouldn't want to miss a chance to embarrass you in front of your students." And with that, Aiko grabbed her surf board and ran back into the ocean.

Kakashi sighed. She could be so one track minded, but he might as well humor her now, later he could ask her what was going one, besides, she seemed happy now. So Kakashi grabbed the other surf board and followed her into the surf. Once they had gotten past the sand bar they waited for a good wave. After a few moments a good wave finally came along. The both of them began paddling back to shore. The wave over took them and the both of them pushed themselves to their feet. Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke were surprised. They didn't know their teacher could surf; however, it wasn't much compared to what Aiko was doing. She was doing jumps, twists, and other manner of tricks, while it looked like Kakashi was just trying to keep from falling.

The wave was starting to loose force, and Aiko was attempting one last jump when she landed funny and her board slipped out from underneath her and sent Aiko plunging into the ocean. She came up spitting out water.

"Who embarrass who?" Kakashi asked coming up beside her.

"Oh shut up! You didn't even do anything!" Aiko said, smiling.

"I still won," Kakashi responded.

Aiko's answer to that was to smirk at him and tip him off his surf board. When he surfaced he was smiling although it was hard to tell. Then they both began laughing as Aiko splashed him. She then hauled herself up onto her surf board and began paddling back to the beach, Kakashi following.

When Aiko got to the beach, she drove the nose of the board into the ground and flopped onto the sand.

"You guys wanna try?" she asked.

"You bet!" Naruto shouted as Kakashi dragged himself out of the water.

"One minute," she said and got up, waded ankle deep in the water near the right rock wall, and then disappeared. Suddenly she re-appeared carrying a surf board. It looked more weathered than the others, but it was still in good condition.

"There you go, knock yourselves out," Aiko said. Each of them grabbed a board and headed out into the surf.

Aiko sad back down on the sand and Kakashi sat down beside her. They watched the kids attempted surfing and then Kakashi broke the silence.

"You had better tell everyone that I finally beat you at wave riding," he said.

Aiko drew her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. For a few moments there was only the sound of the waves crashing on shore, the children shouting, and the wind whistling over the rocks. Then she spoke.

"I can't," she whispered.

"Why not?" Kakashi asked.

"They're dead."

* * *

I finally figured out how the line thing works! ; I'm soooo weird. Cliff hanger huh? Review plz, criticsm welcome if it can be put nicely, no flaming. Adjo! Good-bye for now! 


	3. Chapter 3

Hi there. Sorry for such a late update, school assignments are killers. This is probably gonna be the last update for another week or so since I'm going on vacation soon. Sorry 'bout that sweat drop Ingnore any OOC-ness and little mistakes. Enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Naruto characters, I own Aiko, Kantaro, Kuri, Koto, Hiroshi, Makoto, Yuki and Yoko. I have a lot of chars don't I?

* * *

Kakashi was stunned into silence. Though now some things made sense, like her sudden display of affection a little while ago… though it didn't explain why she had suddenly given up on being a shinobi.

"Aiko… I- "Kakashi began but stopped as he saw Sasuke and Sakura coming up the beach.

When they had reached Aiko and Kakashi they let the boards fall to the ground and dropped down onto the sand, panting.

"What? Tired already?" Aiko asked, putting on a smile, as though nothing were wrong.

"The waves were strong," was all Sasuke said. A wind blew among the rocks making a whistling noise as it cloaked the sky in grey storm clouds.

"Where's Naruto?" Kakashi asked.

"He's still out there," Sakura answered. Kakashi and Aiko looked out into the roaring surf. They both knew how dangerous it could be going past the sand bar when the waves started getting rough.

"Come back!" Kakashi shouted out to Naruto. For a moment it didn't look like the speck of peach and yellow, Naruto, had heard. Then, very faintly, his voice drifted back to them.

"I can't!"

Aiko looked from the waves licking hungrily at the shore back to Naruto, her eyes widening and color draining from her face as realization dawned on her. _Why the hell didn't I see it sooner?_ She though to herself.

"Rip tide!" she breathed as she sprang to her feet. "Get help!"

"Where?" cried Sakura, getting to her feet along with Sasuke.

"Go back along the trail to the beach, once you hit the beach keep going until you find a lifeguard station," Kakashi said and Sakura and Sasuke dashed off.

Aiko ran to where the waves were lapping at the sand. The wind had now picked up to a dull roar and the ocean was a raging mass of iron grey death for someone inexperienced, like Naruto.

"Swim left!" She screamed at Naruto, but the wind threw her words back at her. She gritted her teeth and paced back and forth on the shore like a caged animal.

_Kantaro…_

_My reason for becoming a ninja was so I could protect dreams_

That's corny, you'll be destroying someone else's dream in the process.

_But who's to say it wasn't a bad dream? Bad dreams don't do good for anyone but the dreamer… I want to protect the good dreams, so the world might be better._

That does make a little sense, but it's still silly, though I suppose that's why I…

_Kantaro…_

Aiko had made up her mind; she ran out into the surf and dove under an on coming wave. When she surfaced some yards away from the beach and Kakashi, she drew in a great gasp of air and then began swimming towards Naruto.

"Aiko? Aiko! What are you doing?" he shouted after her, but he go no response.

Sasuke and Sakura dashed down the sandy trail, the wind whistling and screaming in the cliffs above. _I know he's really annoying,_ Sakura thought as they reached the beach and began to run as best as they could on the soft sand in the direction Kakashi had told them to go, _but I can't bear the thought of Naruto dying._

Aiko finally reached Naruto, who was just managing to keep his head above the water. She grabbed him under the arms and began to swim parallel to the shore.

"Come on kid," she grunted, "kick your legs, move your arms. If you don't help out then neither of us will make it back."

Naruto groaned and feebly tried to help Aiko swim out of the rip tide.

_This kid is a dead weight,_ Aiko thought, _he probably used up almost all of his strength trying to swim to shore._

Back on the beach Kakashi shifted his weight nervously. He wanted to help, but it wouldn't serve any purpose to go dashing out into the surf like Aiko had. He finally released the breath he had been holding once he saw Aiko reach Naruto. Then Aiko began to swim to the left, trying to escape the rip tide. When she and Naruto left Kakashi's field of vision, he quickly moved to the beach.

Aiko had not idea how long she had been swimming. It felt like forever and the chill in the water and the cold whipping wind were beginning to make her shiver. _C'mon, _she thought, _this rip tide has to end somewhere. _Almost at the exact moment she thought that, she felt the pull of the water lessen; they had left the rip tide and now they could begin to swim to shore.

"Hang in there Naruto," Aiko whispered, "we're almost there." _I just hope I have enough strength to make it,_ she added in her mind. Her arms and legs felt like lead, her breath burned in her chest and Naruto was like a dead body in her arms. Suddenly Aiko's body gave out on her and they both sank below the surface of the water.

Kakashi felt a cry ripped from his throat when he saw Naruto and Aiko sink below the wave, but the next moment he breathed a sigh of relief as he saw Aiko's head bob above the surface of the water, pulling Naruto after her.

Aiko coughed as she came back up, hauling an unconscious Naruto after her.

"Stay focused," she said to herself in a horse voice. She looked at Kakashi on the beach. _They're all there, standing right next to Kakashi, _she lied to herself. _Kuri, Koto, Hiroshi, Makoto, Yuki, Yoko, and Kantaro... just imagine them all there waiting for you. _Yet even as she thought that tears pricked the corners of her eyes, for she knew that her dear friends could wait for anyone anymore.

Finally she felt her feet scrape against the sandy floor of the ocean. Aiko forced her protesting legs to move forward as she dragged herself and Naruto out of the surf. Kakashi ran out to meet them and carefully took Naruto from the weary Aiko. Kakashi walked up the beach, out of the reach of the waves, and laid Naruto on the sand. Aiko staggered after him and collapsed on all fours not too far away, panting. There was a lull in the wind, just long enough for Kakashi to say something that made Aiko's head snap up in fear and shock.

"Aiko! He's not breathing!"

* * *

dun dun DUN! Cliffhanger, plz don't kill me hides Please review. Critizem is accepted if it can be put nicely. 


	4. Chapter 4

Hey all. I'm sooooooooooo sorry for the late update. My school work has been killing me and then I got sick and on top of all of that, my computer got a bug. I'm also sorry for the chapter being so short again. I'll try to update more often in the future.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, even though I do wish Kakashi was mine (probably along with all the other rabid fan girls out there) But I do own Aiko, Kantaro and any other ppl that are not copy right-ed to Naruto.

* * *

Aiko used what little strength she had left to push herself to her feet and stagger over next to Naruto. She fell to her knees beside him and held her hand in front of his mouth. No Breath.

"C'mon kid, don't do this to me," Aiko said as she tilted his face towards the sky, making sure his breathing passage was clear. Then she drew in a deep breath, pressed her lips to his and breathed out, watching his chest rise as she breathed air into him. Then she pulled away, counting to three in her head and taking another deep breath.

_Don't die, don't die, don't die..._ Aiko thought. _He looks just like him, he looks just like Kantaro. I couldn't save him, but I have to save this kid, I have to fulfill the dream that Kantaro couldn't..._

Aiko drew back again; she didn't know how long she had been doing this, but it seemed like an eternity. Suddenly, Naruto twitched; then his chest started to heave like he was trying to cough up something. Aiko quickly turned his head to the side and water spilled from his mouth. Aiko breathed a sigh of relief and she felt a smile creep across her lips. She looked and Kakashi to find he was staring back at her with an identical look of relief on his face.

"Aiko," he said, "You're crying."

Aiko looked surprised as she lifted her right hand and ran it underneath her eye. When she pulled her hand away she saw a small glistening tear; wavering in the wind until it slowly dripped down the length of her hand and into the sand.

"I couldn't bear the thought of him dying... again," Aiko said softly.

"He's the spitting image of Kantaro, isn't he?" Kakashi said. He was silent while Naruto drew in ragged breaths, and then he said: "You loved him, didn't you?"

Aiko turned her head away.

"It's written all over your face," Kakashi said.

"Those kids," Aiko finally said, changing the subject, "They remind me of our posse back in the day."

"Stop avoiding the subject," Kakashi said, "Is that why you gave up being a ninja, because Kantaro died? Because they all died?"

Aiko bit her lower lip, fighting back tears. For a while the only sounds were the waves crashing on the shore and Naruto's quiet breathing.

"I was never fast enough. I could never get there in time to help, only to hear their last words and Kantaro..." Aiko swallowed hard and took a deep breath, "I never got to tell him how I felt and his... his last words were... they were... 'Aiko, I love you'."

Aiko drew in one deep breath after another, every time she breathed out her shoulders shook and it sounded as though she were forcing air into lungs made of iron. Kakashi felt something inside of him twinge. He had no experience with lost relationships, but he did know what it was like to lose friends. Kakashi was about to say something when he spotted Sasuke and Sakura on the horizon with two lifeguards carrying a stretcher; Sakura was waving wildly.

"He's alright!" Aiko called towards them. She saw a look of relief spread across Sakura's face. In a moment Sakura, Sasuke, and the two lifeguards, a man and a woman, were beside them.

The two lifeguards laid the stretcher down in the sand and gingerly lifted Naruto onto the rough canvas between the two poles. Then they picked up the stretcher and began to carry Naruto down the beach to the lifeguard station. Aiko pushed herself to her feet. She swayed slightly and would have fallen if Kakashi hadn't been there to steady her.

"Think you can walk on your own?" he asked.

"Yeah," Aiko answered, "I can make it." And then she began to walk down the beach, albeit, at a slower pace than her usual sauntering strides.

At the lifeguard station Naruto was laid on a bed in a small room, and after a quick examination he was found to be in good condition for someone who had nearly drowned. That was thanks to Aiko's quick thinking and knowledge of mouth-to-mouth. Naruto was now conscious enough to speak and Sakura, Sasuke and Kakashi filled him in on what had happened. Though after a while Kakashi dropped out of the conversation as his attention shifted to the sliver of the main room that could be seen through the slightly opened door.

Aiko was standing with a blanket wrapped around her, talking to the two lifeguards.

"Aiko, what were you thinking?" the female lifeguard asked.

"You know September is almost over, the rip tides are getting stronger and ore frequent," the male lifeguard added.

"You recklessly endangered all of their lives," the female lifeguard continued, "You've lived around here as long as we have and you know the tide patters. I know you're torn up about your friends dying, but that is no excuse to-" She never got the chance to finish her sentence, for Aiko had thrown the blanket to her, rather hard actually and walked to the door. She pushed it open slightly and stuck her head in the room.

"I've got some place to stop by; you guys go on ahead when you're ready. I'll meet you back at my house. See ya there." And then she left.

The gang was had arrived back at Aiko's house about twenty minutes after she had left the lifeguard station. They had changed back into their usual clothes and now Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto were sitting on the couch, talking even more about what had just happened. However Kakashi was ignoring them. He was busy pacing back and forth restlessly. Finally he said: "I'm going to go out and look for Aiko, you wait here." And with that he left.

Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke watched him go in silence. A few moments after he had left Sasuke spoke.

"Something is strange here," he said, "I think Aiko is keeping some kind of secret." The others didn't reply, but only nodded.

Kakashi walked hurriedly down the street. He had a pretty good idea of where Aiko was at. Finally he stopped in front of two iron gates which were the only entrance in the imposing wall of stone. Kakashi stepped through the gate and into the graveyard. He began to walk through, past the thousands of burial sites, eyes sliding from one side of the graveyard to the other, looking for Aiko. He paused before two graves that he knew well. Before them each lay a single blue flower. Inscribed on the graves were the names of Aiko's father and her mother. He remembered well the day he had been there with everyone else to comfort Aiko as she said her final goodbye to her parents. But that was for another time, Kakashi had a more pressing matter to attend to, so he continued on until he finally found Aiko, kneeling on the ground before a small shrine. As he moved closer, he could see a small photograph in a simple wooden frame sitting on the shrine with a black ribbon wrapped around one corner.

Aiko heard Kakashi approaching and she stood up. Kakashi stopped about two feet from where she was and waited. It was a moment before she turned to face him. When she finally did, Kakashi could see that she was holding back even more tears.

"This is where I come to be alone," she said, not looking him in the eye. "It's the only place where I don't have to hide."

Kakashi understood what she meant. Aiko was quick to share her happiness with those around her, but she was just as quick to hide her sadness as well.

"You miss them?" Kakashi mentally reprimanded himself for such a stupid question, but he felt he had to say something.

"Almost more than I can bear," Aiko whispered.

Kakashi took a step closer to her, and then wrapped his arms around her, trying to be of some comfort. Aiko wrapped her arms over top of his and they stood like that as the damp wind threw the leave of the graveyard trees into the gray sky.


	5. Chapter 5

Yay, up date! (throws candies) I've been having hell at school and this is a good way to escape. I also have a few other fics in the works. Another Naruto one for my deviantart account as well as one for Hellsing and Kyo Kara Maoh and Kingdom Hearts. Looks like I'm gonna be writing for a while, huh?

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, if I did, why would I be writting a fic about my own work? I do own Aiko, Kantaro, Kuri, Koto, Yoko, Yuki, Hiroshi, and Makoto.

Enjoy the story.

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Kakashi sat against the cement base of the shrine, Aiko leaning against him. Both were watching the grey sky.

"How long has it been?" Kakashi asked after a while.

"Not sure exactly, a little over two and a half weeks I think," Aiko answered.

"Who was the last?"

"Kantaro."

There was silence and then Aiko spoke.

"Kakashi, I miss them, very much. I don't what to let them go!" she said.

"Aiko," Kakashi said gently, "They're dead, you'll have to let go eventually. You eveutally let go when your parents-"

"It's not the same!" Aiko interupted. And then they were quiet once more.

"Why?" Aiko finally whispered, "Why them? There are other people out there!"

"That's a horrible thing to say Aiko," Kakashi said.

"I don't care!" Aiko responed forcefully. "Why did they have to die, of everyone out there, why them? Why my friends?"

"Did they, did they die in the line of duty?" Kakashi had asked the question before he could stop himself. Such a question was sure to bring up painful memories.

"Kuri, Koto and Hiroshi did," Aiko answered.

"An entire cell? They were all killed on one mission?" Kakashi asked, surprised. Aiko nodded.

"Makoto, Kantaro and Yuki went to finish, but Yuki died in the process. I-I was always close by when one of them died... I began thinking it was my fault, that I was bad luck..." Aiko trailed off.

"Don't talk nonsense, you could never be bad luck. It wasn't your fault, there was nothing you could have done," Kakashi answered. He felt his heart thump a little faster as he tried to console her.

"And the others... it looked like... like accidents, but..."

"Accidents of what kind?"

"They didn't seem, well, right... but I they, they died anyway. Makoto, Yoko... even Kantaro..." Aiko said quietly, holding back more tears.

"Everything will be alright," that was all Kakashi could say to her. _A ninja seeks for the hidden meaning within the hidden meaning. None of them could have been killed in an ordinary accident. At the time Aiko must have been too distraught to see the true meaning, but she did say she had detected something odd. Something strange must have happened; they were all formidable shinobi, and Kantaro, above all the others, could never be killed by a mear accident. Something is gravely wrong here..._

"Come on Aiko," he said gently, helping her to her feet, "let's head back, you'll get sick if you stay out here any longer." Aiko only nodded slightly as Kakashi took off his vest and wrapped it around her shoulders and began to lead her out.

They were halfway through the graveyard when Aiko stopped. She looked to her right, at the graves Kakashi had paused at earlier.

"I wonder how different things would be if they were here," Aiko whispered before continuing on. Kakashi sighed. _Aiko's had more than her fair share of misfortune, _he thought before letting his mind laps into memory.

He had just eaten breakfast and was wondering what sort of training her would do today when Makoto came dashing out of nowhere, strait at him. Kakashi jumped out of the way as Makoto slid to a stop.

"Makoto, what's wrong?" he asked, for none of the group had ever come to visit him before, and if they had, they would have all come together.

"It's... Aiko..." he panted leaning forward, hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath.

"Aiko? Is she alright? what a happened!" Kakashi asked, he could feel his heart begin to beat faster with fear.

"Aiko... she... her parents," Makoto had finally caught his breath and he stood up and faced Kakashi, "her parents are dead."

Kakashi felt his breath catch in his chest. Aiko's parents were also shinobi, and you couldn't find better role models anywhere. And they were pretty nice too.

"She wanted everyon to be there for the burial..." Makoto continued but trailed off. He could see the shock of Kakashi's face.

Kakashi couldn't really remember the trip there or even much of what happened once he got there, but he did remember the day of the burial.

They were all waiting at Aiko's house. Waiting for her to come out of her bedroom. Finally one of her visiting relatives had to go and get her. They could hear her relative's soothing voice, and then Aiko shouting "I don't want to say good bye!"

After a few moments of persuading, Aiko's relative had finally been able to get her to come out. It was the only time Kakashi had ever seen her wearing a dress.

The walk to the cemetary was a grim one. First the coffin bearers with the coffins, and then Aiko and her friends and then the family and friends. At the graves the caskets were lowered while friends and family members said their good byes. Aiko didn't say a word, she only dropped a handful of dirt onto each of the coffins in the graves, and then turned and ran from the graveyard. Kakashi and everyone followed her.

Aiko lead them through the streets and eventually to their hidden cove. By the time they had caught up with her, she was sitting waist deep in a tide pool, hidden behind a rocky out crop. When they tried to go closer and comfort her, she only shouted "Go away!"

Everyone could tell she was crying, but they let her be for a while, since Aiko had never liked anyone seeing her cry; not even when she was a very young child. After a while Kuri approched Aiko and they talked for a little while. Finally Aiko crawled out of the tide pool and sat on the beach with the rest of them. And they stayed like that for the rest of the day, watching the waves and the setting sun. It was then that Kantaro spoke.

"We al should be getting back," he said. No one replied but only stood and got ready to leave.

"Here Aiko," Kataro said, extending his hand towards her, "I'll walk you home."

The memory fadd when they came in sight of Aiko's apartment. Aiko handed the vest back to Kakashi and proceeded up the steps alone.

"Well you sure took a while getting back here," Naruto commented as Aiko walked in the door. Aiko ignored Naruto and walked back to her bedroom and shut the door.

"Um sensei," Sakura said as Kakashi walked in, "what's the matter with Aiko?"

Kakashi opened his mouth to explain but thought better of it. The loss of friends was a very personal matter.

"It's Aiko's story to tell," he responed before sitting down and pulling out his book. Only this time he couldn't seem to concentrate. His thoughts kept straying back to Aiko, and the pain she must be going through.

Aiko leaned against the door in her bedroom. Her life seemed to be coming apart at the seams. She sighed and then walked to her closet. She opened the door and there was her vest, identical to Kakashi's.

She gently fingered the edge of it before pulling out one of the scrolls in it's pouches. As she did so, memories flooded her mind. Memories of all the battles she had fought and the missions she had accomplished.

An intense longing filled her. She wanted to go back to the life she had had. The life her friends her been in... Aiko shoved the scroll back into the vest and shut the closet door.

"No," she whispered, leaning her head against the door, "I can never go back to being a ninja."

* * *

Not much action in this one, though there will be in the next chapter, hopefully. I kinda had to cut this one short otherwise it would have been too long. 


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